Tag Archive | Forsaken

Scripture of the Week by JoBeth Kested

Scripture for the week of June 30, 2024
By JoBeth Kested

God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4 (NKJV)

Have you ever cried heartbreaking tears and there was no one there to wipe them away or to wrap you in a loving embrace? We all long for a world without the grief of injustice, suffering, broken hearts and tears. This scripture in Revelation is God’s promise that the dream in every heart to see the end of all death, sorrow, crying and pain will surely come. Until that day we find this comfort that our loving Heavenly Father is our safe refuge; He is always there to hold us in His everlasting arms, He holds all our tears in a bottle and writes all our sorrows in His book. (Deuteronomy 33:22, Psalm 56:8) We can now hold this hope that as we face all the trials and tribulations of this world we have peace, comfort and joy because of the resurrection life that is ours in Jesus. (John 16:33) Yes, AMEN!

Faith or Fear, Which Will You Choose? By JoBeth Kested

Mountains01Have you ever realized that whether you live in faith or fear is a choice? You might say, “I always fear the worst about everything and I can’t help it; that’s just the way I am”. Let’s take a look at the Bible definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (NKJV). What if we replace the word faith with the word fear? “Now fear is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Isn’t that exactly what fear is when we allow our minds to run away imagining every possibility of all the bad things that might happen? Those imaginations can run around and around in our heads over and over, like a hamster on a wheel, until we are paralyzed with fear and hopelessness expecting only the worst. Do we have a choice? According to 2 Corinthians 10:5, we can choose to “cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (NKJV).

We need to realize that the choice between fear or faith is like coming to a fork in the road. We can choose to go down the path of fear, mulling over all the worst possibilities that can happen, or we can choose the path of faith; taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and putting our trust in God’s limitless power to intervene in our circumstances. The choice is ours, we are either going to put our trust in the worst possibilities of hopelessness or put our trust in God’s supernatural power to perform miracles on our behalf. Because, we KNOW His plans for us are good and not evil, to give us a future and a hope! (Jeremiah 29:11) So, fear or faith, which path will you choose?

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that You will help us to choose the path of faith and to take every thought captive, pulling down every stronghold of fear that comes against our obedience to walk in the path of goodness and hope you have for us in Jesus. In Jesus name, AMEN.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6(NKJV)

©JoBeth Kested 2014